I know there are campers that prefer and expect total darkness at campgrounds, especially in national forests. That usually is not going to happen unless one is boondocking.

We all want to be good neighbors when camping so it would be courteous to keep this in mind when using lights. No one should be using the large industrial lights one might pickup at Home Depot. These are very annoying. Some of the lights that are on the exterior of RVs are blinding. If leaving these on, you may want to consider switching them out to a soft amber light. Some RVs come with bright lights on the front (usually some fifth wheels). All lights, if not needed, should be turned off at quiet time. If you have to keep your area lighted for safety or security reasons, invest in some solar spots and point them towards your RV.

For those that prefer total darkness, keep in mind many RV'ers are older and need these lights for safety and security. If you are in your 60's, 70's and 80's and scramling out of your RV in the middle of the night, you need your steps and the area around your camper well lit.​For both sides of this issue, please remember everyone has different needs and try to be courteous and understanding.

We previously talked about our camphosting experience at Bolding Mill CG on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. We cleaned bathrooms, campsites, blew off roads and helped campers with their problems. The hours were 20 hours a week per campsite. If one person worked 10 hours, it counted as 10 hours. If two persons from the same campsite worked 10 hours at the same time, it still only counted as 10 hours. Guess what, most of the time, only one of us worked. In spite of it being 95 degrees, we enjoyed ourselves, mostly because of the clients/campers and the fellowship with the other volunteers.The volunteers got together for cookouts and such. That being said, we probably won't volunteer in the heat of the summer again.

Last September, we camphosted at Edisto Beach State Park. It's one of the barrier islands near Charleston, SC. It was twenty five hours per campsite. Five, five hour days. It was the same deal as Bolding Mill so I worked the twenty five hours by myself and left my significant other at the RV. The duties were about the same except we didn't have to clean bathrooms. The Rangers and other volunteers were very nice. There was very little interaction between volunteers. The volunteers did not have sewer. We won't do without sewer in the future. This experience reinforced our decision not to camphost during the summer in the South. The mosquitos were intolerable.

We are now at Sawnee CG on Lake Lanier for the winter. So far, so good. We have had one cookout and we see the other volunteers often. The hours are as they should be. If we both work 5 hours together, we get credit for ten.

All in all, camphosting has been a good experience. Next year, we may not camphost. We will travel more and spend all the money we saved!